The winter holidays are over, and thousands of students across Windsor-Essex return to class on Monday.
Though with the entire province on Ontario remaining under a lockdown order to slow the spread of COVID-19, all students will be learning online for the week of January 4 to January 8.
Elementary school students are scheduled to return to their buildings on Monday, January 11. Secondary students will learn from home for another two weeks and are set to return on January 25.
Both of the region's English-language school boards had put contingency plans in place after December 11, 2020, when the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit ordered schools to shift to online learning. Students learned from home the following week, leading up to the two-week Christmas break.
The Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) said they had put accommodations in place for students with special needs.
"While school boards have been directed to have all students participate in remote learning, we are required to provide in-person support for students with complex special education needs, especially when accommodations cannot be met during remote learning," read the notice on the board's website. "For those students in our elementary GAINS classrooms and our secondary STEPS classrooms, the GECDSB will provide in-person learning as an option for those students who are presently registered for in-person learning."
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board indicated last month that it had ordered additional Chromebooks and other materials to expedite learning for elementary students.
"Although we cannot guarantee additional devices for every student, our IT department will do its absolute best to try to accommodate all requests," read the WECDSB's notice.
Meanwhile, at the University of Windsor, the winter semester begins with classes starting on January 7. University classes will be held remotely with the exception of programs requiring in-person lab work.
At St. Clair College, the winter semester begins with all programs with regulatory bodies beginning on January 11. All other programs begin on January 18.
